Ingredients:
1 lb. (4 sticks/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups granulated sugar
8 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tsp. lemon juice
8 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. "bak pulver" (baking powder)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Egg Wash
(For brushing tops of cookies before baking)
1/2 egg white with equal parts water
You will need:
Cookie Cutters in holiday shapes
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C).
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
Cream the sugar and butter until very light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Beat in eggs, vanilla and lemon juice until light and fluffy.
Add in the flour mixture slowly.* (see note)
*Note: You may need to stir in the final amount of flour by hand.
Refrigerate dough for at least one hour (overnight is fine), wrapped tightly in saran (plastic) wrap.
Roll and cut out in fun holiday shapes, and brush with a mixture that is 1/2 egg white and 1/2 water.
Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until the edges just begin to get a little darker than the rest of the cookie. Store in an air-tight container, and if the cookies get hard, put a piece of bread in with them to soften them up! (This works for storing brown sugar too).
While these cookies aren't meant to be frosted, they can be dusted with colored sugars. Enjoy!
Source: Christine Werner (my great-grandmother from Germany)
Submitted By: Marin Riegger
Date: November 4, 2003